Photo of the Week: Addressing HIV/AIDS at the Local and Global Levels

Today's "Photo of the Week" comes from Foreign Service Officer Christopher Wurst, and from the time he spent as the Public Affairs Officer in Zambia. Christopher describes the circumstances that led up to the photo: “I was leading an Embassy outreach program in Zambia's remote Western Province. Half of the vast province is literally cut off from the rest of the country (and the rest of the world) for half the year when the rains come. There are many fisher-families that lead essentially nomadic lives here, traveling on the flood plain and camping on islands. The HIV/AIDS rate among them is much higher than the country's average. While we were out there, a huge U.S.-funded (and CDC managed) HIV counseling and testing program was going on, and nomadic fisher-people from all over were drawn to the spectacle. There was music and dancing, as part of skits to educate people about HIV/AIDS in the local language. George -- a Foreign Service National [local employee] from the political section -- jumped in and started dancing with the troupe, and I snapped this shot. It was the most remote place I've ever been."

On Sunday, July 18, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby travels to Vienna, Austria, to lead the U.S. delegation to this year's International AIDS conference. The United States will share data and best practices with the estimated 25,000 participants, as well as the lessons we've learned from the programs supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

For more information on PEPFAR activities at the International AIDS Conference, please visit the PEPFAR website, Twitter feed, or Facebook page. Webcast coverage of the conference is being provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation, and can be viewed here. Additional information on the conference is available here.